Walmart Closes 63 of its Sam's Club Stores, Laying off Thousands of Employees

BENTONVILLE, AR - A strategy that looks to boost more on e-commerce has taken effect quicker than some anticipated. 63 of Walmart’s Sam’s Club stores abruptly closed doors or sent short notice to employees and customers of store closures this week, according to Business Insider.

Stores affected by the closings can be found throughout the U.S.

The retail chain has not announced just how many employees might be affected or laid off due to the abrupt nature of these closings.

According to the news source, in a company-wide email sent on Thursday, Sam’s Club CEO and President John Furner expressed, "After a thorough review, it became clear we had built clubs in some locations that impacted other clubs, and where population had not grown as anticipated. We will be closing some clubs, and we notified them today. We'll convert some of them into e-commerce fulfillment centers—to better serve the growing number of members shopping with us online and continue scaling the SamsClub.com business."

Walmart officials explained that up to12 facilities will now transition into e-commerce distribution centers, where employees from the stores will be able to reapply for jobs. Some of the stores will be closing in the next several weeks.

All of the closing stores have been taken off the company’s website, and members who paid the $45 annual fee will be refunded in areas effected by the transition. For a full list of the stores closing their doors, check out the Business Insider article in full here.